Please join me tomorrow, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the DuPage County Administration Building (421 N. County Farm Road in Wheaton, Illinois) for free expungement and sealing assistance from pro bono attorneys! Although advanced registration has closed, the Clinic should be able to help a limited number of walk-in clients tomorrow.
Hope to see you there!
Very unfortunately, I have confirmed through two Freedom of Information Act requests that Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker has yet to grant any clemency petitions in 2024 (as of June 3rd, 2024). Although I do not have specifics, I am aware of multiple petitions for clemency having been denied by the Governor during this same time frame. More hopefully, though, there are still many undecided clemency petitions pending before Pritzker, and we can only hope that he reviews these before long and moreover, sees fit to grant the deserving petitioners relief in the form of a pardon with authorization to expunge (or a commutation of sentence).
The next round of quarterly hearings on petitions for executive clemency before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board is scheduled to take place in Springfield, Illinois, from July 8th through 10th, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel located at 3000 South Dirksen Parkway.
During the second half of 2023, Governor Pritzker granted a total of seventeen (17) pardons, in various forms, to the same number of petitioners and those results are summarized as follows:
During April and May, 2023, Governor Pritzker granted a total of thirteen (13) pardons, in various forms, here in our state. On April 18th, five (5) petitioners with cases from various counties within Illinois, ranging in dates from 1981 to 2002, had their sentences commuted to “parole eligible”. In addition, one (1) petitioner’s sentence, which included Mandatory Supervised Release (MSR), was commuted. For those not familiar, to “commute a sentence” means that the Governor, in this case, essentially substitutes the original sentence imposed by a judge or jury to something lesser. It goes without saying, then, that all six (6) of the clemency petitions granted on April 18, 2023, were involving then-currently incarcerated individuals; the next batch of clemency grants (discussed below), involved people who had already served their respective sentences and were seeking the ability to return to court to pursue expungement of statutorily ineligible convictions (and possibly restoration of previously-forfeited firearms rights).
Next, on May 4, 2023, Governor Pritzker granted a total of seven (7) petitions for executive clemency by pardoning, with the authorization to expunge, but without restoring previously-forfeited firearms rights. The pardons included cases from McLean, Cook, Jefferson, Lawrence, Wayne, and Clay Counties that ranged in dates from at least as far back as 1987 through 2004. The pardoned convictions included both misdemeanors and felonies, such as retail theft, burglary, forgery, theft, and possession of controlled substance.
Thank you, Governor Pritzker, for giving all these undoubtedly deserving people a second chance in this regard!
In a recent response to my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information about number and types of pardons granted between mid-June, 2022 and early-April, 2023, the Chief Legal Counsel, and FOIA Officer, for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board has advised that a mere fifteen (15) individuals have received a pardon, or act of executive clemency, from Governor J. B. Pritzker. More specifically, since June 15, 2022 and through and including April 3, 2023, there were two (2) “batches” of executive clemency grants issued (nine (9) on February 17, 2023 and six (6) on February 24, 2023) including two (2) commutations of sentence and thirteen (13) pardons authorizing expungment in the circuit court of conviction. None of these clemency grants included restoration of firearms privileges, or the ability to apply for an Illinois Firearms Owners Identification (FOID) Card. The pardoned convictions ranged, as is typical, from misdemeanor to felony, although most of these convictions were the latter. There were five (5) “violent” offenses pardoned, but the other ten (10) were “non-violent”, including offenses such as retail theft, traffic and drug offenses. One of the commutation of sentences issued by Pritzker was for an aggravated kidnapping conviction from 1999, and the most serious pardon with authorization for expungement was given to an individual with mulitple convictions including armed robbery and unlawful use of a weapon. More generally, the relief granted this past February by Governor Pritzker involved convictions ranging in dates from 1977 through 2010.
I am pleased to learn of the fifteen (15) people receiving relief through the executive clemency process, and trust that these individuals will finally be able to put past mistakes behind themselves, but I do not believe that nearly enough “second chances” are being given by the present administration. There were undoubtedly many petitions for pardons denied during the nearly ten (10) month date range at issue and I am working to get more information concerning how many petitions were filed, in total, in order to determine percentage granted numbers, along with other important information. I, of course, do not know the details behind every petition, nor do I know every petitioner; I do know, however, that I had very deserving young man denied a commutation of sentence during the time frame stated above (in fact, he was released from custody multiple months prior to his petition actually being decided, which is problematic in my mind on its own). I would urge Governor Pritzker to step up his efforts with regards to deciding, and ultimately granting, petitions for executive clemency – he must remember, above all, that each of us is human and that we all make mistakes. People can and do change, and so many of us can benefit from being given the benefit of the doubt.
On this Fourth of July holiday, while many of us are enjoying the abundant freedoms our great nation has to offer, others are not so fortunate. One group of people that comes to mind in that regard would be those incarcerated, either now or in years past, or individuals otherwise convicted of a criminal offense. The stigma associated having a past, or present, criminal offense (especially felony) on one’s record cannot be ignored and is one of the main reasons many of my clients approach me seeking help in petitioning the Illinois governor for a pardon. The term “executive clemency”, or “pardon”, is generally thought of as the umbrella word for a few different types of relief, including authorization to expunge and commutation of sentence. Firearms privileges, otherwise forfeited post criminal conviction, can also be restored by the governor, if properly requested in a pardon petition and should he see fit to do so.
During the year and a half span (January 1, 2021 through January 14, 2022), Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker granted a total of one hundred forty-seven (147) pardons or clemencies, including two (2) pardons, one hundred twenty-three (123) pardons authorizing expungement, three (3) pardons authorizing expungement and restoring the petitioner’s firearms privileges previous forfeited, twenty-two (22) commutations of sentence (including three (3) commutations to parole-eligible crimes). While these “acts of mercy” by Governor Pritzker are undoubtedly invaluable to the individual recipients, I am all but certain there are many other deserving individuals still awaiting decisions on their pending petitions for clemency…individuals either still incarcerated or otherwise inhibited by their past criminal records. I urge Governor Pritzker to continue, and even increase, his review of pending pardon petitions and further, to do whatever necessary to ensure the Illinois Prisoner Review Board is capable of operating efficiently and expediently when it comes to the public hearings that are associated with executive clemency petitions. Most importantly, I also thank Governor Pritzker for giving these one hundred and forty-seven (147) people their lives back in some way. Finally, it goes without saying that I, for one, will continue to fight zealously for petitioners’ rights to be reinstated through the pardon process for as long as it may take!
I have been receiving numerous calls from people wanting to inquire about the status of their, or their loved ones’, clemency petitions. Please understand that I write these posts in an attempt to share knowledge on various clemency (and expungement/sealing) related issues, but that I am just a solo practitioner, and not in any way affiliated with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. I cannot answer specific questions from clemency petitioners about the status of his/her petition. Anyone seeking information as to the status of his or her clemency petition should reach out directly to the Prisoner Review Board at (217) 782-7273, or prb.clemency@illinois.gov.
I can provide, however, the following general information about petitions for executive clemency within the State of Illinois: petitions must follow certain guidelines set forth by the PRB. Within the petition, petitioners can choose whether to have an optional public hearing before members of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board; once the written document is filed, petitioners will thereafter receive written notice of next steps to follow, including how to complete and submit fingerprints, either on paper or electronically (for not-in-custody petitioners), and when/where his or her assigned public hearing will take place (if that option was chosen). The PRB’s website will also reflect, once updated, general information about hearings, but not specifics regarding each petitioner. Hearings are typically assigned around two and one-half months after the written petition’s filing deadline.
Once the public hearing has occurred, members of the Prisoner Review Board will meet, behind closed doors, to determine what recommendation to give to the Governor about an individual’s clemency petition (i.e., should it be granted or denied). This recommendation is completely confidential and no one will know what the recommendation to the Governor is. Once the PRB has submitted the recommendation, the Governor then has an unlimited amount of time to decide whether to grant, in part or in full, a petitioner’s clemency petition. “Results” will be mailed directly to the petitioner, or the petitioner’s attorney of record if there was one, shortly after they are decided. After a petition is submitted and, if this option was chosen, the public hearing has been held, no one can advise of the petition’s exact status beyond the fact that it is pending before the Governor of Illinois. It is extremely important for a petition to keep his or her address current with the Prisoner Review Board, at all times, for purposes of decisions ultimately being mailed out once they are ready.
The Illinois Prisoner Review Board has just announced that it has postponed the public hearings available to clemency petitioners that were originally scheduled for January 10th through 14th, 2022 to a later, to-be-determined date. Updates to the hearing schedule should be published on the Prisoner Review Board’s website, under the Executive Clemency and Expungement tab, but I would also recommend you stay in touch directly with the Prisoner Review Board to determine when you, or your loved one’s, hearing will be rescheduled to. The next date public hearings are officially set for, as of now, is April 12th through 14th, 2022 and these are slated to take place in Springfield, Illinois, likely at the Illinois State Library. It is possible an additional docket date may be added to account for the now-delayed January 2022 hearings. Contact information for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board is as follows:
Illinois Prisoner Review Board
319 East Madison Street, Suite A
Please join me on October 2, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the 2021 DuPage County Expungement Clinic where I will be spending the day volunteering my time and sharing my knowledge to assist clients with the preparation of Petitions to Expunge and/or Seal and related documents. Volunteer attorneys, such as myself, will be not only assisting with document preparation, but more importantly, providing guidance on case eligibility for expungement or sealing relief, as well as information on the expungement (and sealing) process from start to finish. This event will be held at the Administration Building in DuPage County, at 421 North County Farm Road, Wheaton, Illinois. This event will very likely change lives for many people and I am proud to be able to participate alongside of the good folks from the Public Interest Law Initiative.
Not quite two (2) Fridays ago, perhaps in advance of the upcoming Easter holiday as is common tradition, Governor J. B. Pritzker granted a total of thirteen (13) Petitions for Executive Clemency. Most of these grants were in the forms of a pardon authorizing expungement of the underlying case or cases in the appropriate county’s or counties’ Circuit Court(s), but there were included amongst the success stories three (3) commutations of sentences. The convictions at issue ranged, as usual, from felonies to misdemeanors/ordinance violations, and the crimes were both of a violent and non-violent nature, and included burglary, theft, forgery, drug offenses, battery and murder. The convictions spanned a period of twenty (25) years, from 1985 to 2010. None of these pardons recently granted included any restoration of firearm ownership privileges and/or rights. I am very proud to say that one (1) of my clients was included in this group of individuals granted relief from past convictions and I am sincerely elated for this extremely deserving individual.
Prior to this recent batch of clemency grants, Governor Pritzker granted twenty-four (24) undoubtedly deserving individuals relief through the executive clemency process; nineteen (19) individuals were granted a pardon with authorization to expunge (two (2) of these did include restoration of firearm ownership privileges and/or rights) and five (5) people’s sentences were commuted on December 18, 2020. Again, the convictions ranged from serious, violent felonies to less serious, non-violent misdemeanors, and spanned the years from 1981 to to 2016. Additionally, on January 14, 2021, Governor Pritzker commuted one (1) person’s sentence on a 2012 second degree murder and burglary conviction and just two (2) days later, he commuted a sentence on a 2016 aggravated discharge of a firearm conviction.
A heartfelt thanks goes out to Governor Pritzker for acting on these very important restorative justice issues, even during the current pandemic we are suffering through, and a sincere congratulations to everyone who was the recipient of relief through the clemency process!
Illinois Expungement Lawyer Blog